A passenger’s guide to aviation lingo

If you aren’t a pilot, some of the aviation-related terms you encounter may seem confusing. Here’s a glossary to help assure that when you hear words and acronyms from industry people, you’ll nod with understanding instead of pausing with puzzlement.

Aileron: Panels attached to the rear outboard section of the wing that help the pilot bank the airplane.

Airspeed, groundspeed: We fly in an ocean of air. Headwinds slow you down, resulting in a lower groundspeed (speed over the ground), while your airspeed (speed through the air) to achieve that groundspeed remains the same no matter which way the wind is blowing.

Altimeter, flight level: The altimeter measures height expressed by barometric pressure. (Air pressure decreases at a fairly constant rate as you climb.) Above 18,000 feet (almost 5,500 meters), height is measured in Flight Levels (FL 200 equals 20,000 feet or 6,100 meters). Some countries in the Far East use flight levels in feet instead of meters. Note that barometric altitude is not the same as true altitude. So a GPS-derived altitude will not match that displayed on an altimeter.

Approach, decision height, missed approach, go-around: Nearing an airport, the pilot will “shoot an approach,” which means flying a specific pattern that brings the aircraft to the landing zone precisely, even in poor weather. A “missed approach” means that the pilots couldn’t see the runway environment when they reached the minimum altitude (“decision height”) and had to climb away either to try again or fly to the alternate airport. A go-around is like a missed approach–climbing away, then returning to land–but usually is done because there was a deer or other aircraft on the runway or some other reason the landing couldn’t be accomplished safely.

ATC: Air Traffic Control (also sometimes referred to as Air Traffic Management or ATM). Controllers don’t actually control aircraft but exist mainly to keep them from running into each other. In every case, pilots have the final say, although they must comply with controller instructions except in an emergency.

Avionics: The “aircraft electronics” mostly found in the cockpit and that pilots are always asking to be upgraded to the latest and most expensive configuration.

Bleed air: Pressurized air delivered from a jet engine’s compressor section, used to run cabin environmental systems, including pressurizing the cabin, and to provide warm air to deice the wings and empennage.

Block charter: Charter flight hours purchased in volume, usually at a discount and sometimes allowing use of multiple aircraft.

Ceiling: The height of the bottom of the cloud deck, as measured above ground level. See also “service ceiling.”

Certification: Most aviation products must meet stringent certification requirements set by government agencies. This is for safety reasons, but also goes a long way toward explaining why aircraft, engines and parts cost so much.

Completions/refurbishments: When you buy a new aircraft, it will need to undergo “completion” (outfitting of the cabin and exterior paint). A used aircraft gets a “refurbishment.”

Drag: Drag causes the aircraft to resist movement through air, and it must be overcome by plenty of thrust from the engines, which is why engines need lots of fuel. The higher you go, the more air density drops and the faster you can fly on a given level of power output, because drag drops as density drops.

EASA: The European Aviation Safety Agency, the counterpart to the U.S. FAA (see below).

Empennage: The tailfeathers on the back of the airplane.

ETA, ETE: Estimated time of arrival, estimated time en route.

FAA: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

Fairing: A portion of an aircraft that smooths airflow around aerodynamic rough spots (like where wings join the fuselage).

FAR: Federal Aviation Regulations, which ­govern all aspects of aviation in the U.S.

FBO: “Fixed-base operator,” which means an aviation service provider based at a specific airport. FBOs often are the fuel supplier at an airport and also the facility that welcomes you into the aviation infrastructure. FBOs provide many more services, such as comfortable waiting areas, pilot facilities, hangars, parking and offices.

Fixed-wing: An airplane, as opposed to a rotary-wing aircraft (helicopter).

Flaps: The movable panels on the inner rear edge of the wing. Most jets require flaps to be extended on takeoff to help the airplane get off the ground safely.

Fractional share: Portions of aircraft sold to multiple owners. Usually associated with a company that manages the shared operation on behalf of owners.

Fuselage: The part of the aircraft that includes the cockpit and cabin, and to which the wings and empennage are attached.

General aviation: Everything aeronautical except military and airline aviation. Business aviation is part of general aviation. General aviation is a new concept in many countries where only airlines and military flying have existed.

Green aircraft: A factory-fresh airplane that needs to have its interior completed.

Hypoxia: The deleterious effects to your brain, if you don’t use the oxygen masks when there is a pressurization problem, possibly due to bleed air system trouble.

IFR/VFR: Instrument/Visual Flight Rules, a body of regulations (FARs) for flying when the weather is generally good (VFR) or bad (IFR). Most business jet operations are conducted under IFR, even in good weather.

Lift: What keeps the aircraft flying, generated by moving a wing or rotor blades through the air. Lack of lift leads to a stall.

Mach: How fast you’re going in relation to the speed of sound, named after Austrian physicist Ernst Mach. You can almost break the sound barrier (fly faster than Mach 1.0) in a Cessna Citation X or Gulfstream G650, but you’ll need a supersonic business jet to do so safely and regularly. Current regulations don’t permit civil supersonic flight over most land areas because of the unavoidable noise of the resulting sonic boom.

Nacelle: Sculpts the airflow around an engine.

NextGen, Sesar: The FAA’s and European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) plans for modernized air-traffic-control systems based on GPS navigation. They will cost you tons of money for avionics upgrades although they also promise to improve efficiency and safety.

NTSB: National Transportation Safety Board, an independent U.S. government body that is responsible for investigating transportation accidents.

Part 91: The Federal Aviation (FAR) regulation covering aircraft operations by non-commercial entities, such as a corporation owning and operating a jet using its own pilots.

Part 135: The FAR covering aircraft operations by commercial entities, in this case unscheduled charter providers, also known as air taxi. Part 121 covers scheduled airlines.

Pitot tube: The tube near the front of the aircraft that sucks in air to drive the airspeed indicator.

RVSM: Reduced vertical separation minimums, the system being adopted worldwide to increase the number of Flight Levels available for air traffic.

Service ceiling: The maximum attainable altitude in a jet where the aircraft can still achieve a 500-foot-per-minute rate of climb (roughly 150 meters per minute).

SIFL: Standard Industry Fare Level rates, used to determine the value of a flight that is taxable. Another option is to use fair market or charter value.

Squawks: Problems or discrepancies with an aircraft. If your in-flight satellite phone stops working, you notify the pilots, who will write a “squawk” in the aircraft’s paperwork.

Stall: When airflow over the wing slows down too much, it stagnates and causes a loss of lift, which can be catastrophic in a jet.

Static display: The outdoor display of aircraft at an air show.

Tail number: The “license plate” or registration letters and/or numbers painted on your aircraft. Each country has its own prefix: China (PRC)=B; Hong Kong: B-H, B-K, B-L; Macau: B-M; Mongolia: JU; Singapore: 9V; N=U.S.; C=Canada, etc. Often called “N-number” in the U.S.

Winglet: These tilted-up devices at the outboard end of the wings help lower aerodynamic drag and thus allow jets to fly farther using the same amount of fuel.

Yoke, sidestick, joystick: The controls that ­pilots use to fly the airplane.

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